CANAL CRUISE
Self-drive boat
Rent a small electric boat and steer it through the canals yourself, no licence needed.
Be your own captain
Several companies in Amsterdam rent out small electric boats for a few hours. You get a short explanation and a map, and then you are on your own. In the Netherlands, small, slow boats like these need no boating licence, so anyone over the rental company's minimum age can steer.
It is the freest way to see the canals: you stop where you like, moor for a coffee and take the narrow canals at your own pace. The boats are electric, so they are quiet.
What you see
Wherever you go. A good first loop runs from the Jordaan along the Prinsengracht to the Brouwersgracht and back along the Herengracht. Some canals are one-way or closed to rental boats; the map you get shows which.
Good to know
The canals are busy with tour boats, so keep to the right, give the big boats room and pass under bridges slowly. Alcohol limits apply to the skipper, just as on the road. On a sunny weekend the boats go fast, so book ahead.
Before you go
- Rental companies sit around the Jordaan and the western canals; you start and end at their jetty.
- Keep to the right and give the big tour boats room.
- The skipper must stay sober: the same alcohol limits apply as on the road.
- Book ahead on sunny weekends.
What people say
Related spots
More things to do in Amsterdam ›
LANDMARKBrouwersgracht
Often voted the prettiest canal: warehouses, houseboats and no tour-boat crowds.
CANAL CRUISEOpen boat cruise with a guide
A small open boat with a live guide, slipping into canals the big boats cannot reach.
CANAL CRUISEDrinks cruise
Wine and cheese, beer or cocktails on a small boat, mostly late in the afternoon and in the evening.
LANDMARKNoordermarkt
Saturday organic farmers' market and Monday flea market around the Noorderkerk.
CANAL CRUISECovered glass boat cruise
The classic one-hour canal tour in a big boat with a glass roof, running all year in any weather.
HIDDEN GEMCafé Papeneiland
A 1642 brown café with the legend of a secret tunnel to a hidden church across the canal.
Tours and quests that pass here
These walks have a stop a few minutes from Self-drive boat. Free, on your phone, start any time.
AUDIO TOURAmsterdam in a Day: Highlights Walk
Start here if it's your first day. Why the houses lean, how the canals were dug, and what the Golden Age was actually built on.
AUDIO TOURVan Gogh's Amsterdam
The years before the fame: a failed bookshop clerk walking these same streets. Ends at the museum door.
CITY QUESTThe Canal Cipher
A coded will, seven places, seven words. Walk the canal ring and read what the merchant hid.